Friday, September 14, 2007

Jeffs is not a rapist

ST. GEORGE, Utah (Cou rt TV) - A woman who was married at 14 to her older cousin told a jury Thursday that she married at the instruction of Warren Jeffs, the leader of a polygamous sect, and out of fear of eternal damnation.ADVERTISEMENT

As the first witness to take the stand in the case against Jeffs, the woman, now 21, said that Jeffs, her schoolteacher and spiritual adviser, taught that her purpose in life was to be obedient and submissive to her husband.

Jeffs may be a kook and a menace, but he is on trial for being an accomplice to rape, and I don't see how he could be guilty of that. Who is the rapist, her husband? If so, why isn't her husband on trial for rape?

The alleged victim testified that her decision to marry was influenced by a fear of eternal damnation, and that Jeffs urged her to stop refusing sexual relations with her husband. If Jeffs committed a crime by giving advice, then a lot of marriage counselors are also criminals.

I also think that it is a little strange that the press is not publishing the accuser's name. She is a 21-year-old adult. Her marriage is a public record. I can see where a rape victim might not want it know that she had sex with a stranger, but the accuser her only had sexual relations with the man who is her husband and the father of her children.